How o reinstall Mojave for a different user?

[krs]

I think I have a complete brain block...

Here is the problem:
I installed Mojave using a USB flash drive on a 500 GB partition of a 2 TB drive.
After that was done, I transferred all user-1 files from a Mac ElCamino backup.
That all worked fine - I ended up with the user-1 files running on Mojave with the APFS file system just the way it should be.

Trouble is I picked the wrong backup and I now want to erase everything on that 500 GB partition and start again from scratch, ie
Install Mojave using the flash drive and then transfer user-2 files.

Problem is that I can't figure out how to erase that 500 GB partition - I'm sure there is an easy, obvious way, but it eludes me right now.

The internal drive on the Mini (which is the Mac I use for this) is ElCapitan, so formatted HFS+
When I launch Disk Utility in ElCamino, the Mojave partition doesn't show up since it is APFS, again as expected.
If I boot into Mojave and launch Disk Utility, the APFS partition is there but I can obviously not erase it.
I thought the USB installer of Mojave would give me access to Disk Utility in Mojave (on the installer) to use that to erase the Mojave partition on the external drive, but there is no such option on the installer.

Now what?

Side question - Can I take the partition with macOS 10.14 and user-1 on it and somehow replace all the user-1 data with user-2 data?
I never tried anything like that.

 

[pm-r]

Trouble is I picked the wrong backup and I now want to erase everything on that 500 GB partition and start again from scratch, ie
Install Mojave using the flash drive and then transfer user-2 files.

Why create all that extra work when all you want to do is create a new correct admin user. Once that is done, you can then delete the previous erroneous user.

You should be able to create a new user using your old correct username and it's password, then log out from the erroneous username and login with the new correct username and use Migration Assistant, just as you would do when creating a new clean operating system.

Once that is done, can you come just delete the old user account with its wrong data.


- Patrick
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[krs]

Patrick,

Thanks for the suggestion but I don't think that is going to be that straight forward.
I can't migrate user-2 while user-1 data is still on that partition, there is not enough space for user-1 and user-2 data at the same time.

I could see it I can delete enough of user-1 data to make enough room to migrate user-2, but that seems like a fair bit of manual work.

If I can just erase the drivea dn reinstall the OS and the data - that all happens with very little manual intervention.

 

[MacInWin]

It seems pretty straightforward to me. Boot from the USB Mojave installer again, cancel the installer if it starts, then use Disk Utility to do what you want. DU should be on the USB installer memory stick.

But I'm confused a bit. You referred to a Mac mini running El Capitan. Does that mean that you have partitioned the hard drive in the Mini into two partitions, then installed Mojave into one partition while keeping El Cap in the other? If you did that, it would seem to me that El Cap DU should be able to see the second partition to remove it completely, then let you reinstall Mojave into that second partition again.

So, what really is going on?

 

[pm-r]

Thanks for the suggestion but I don't think that is going to be that straight forward.

That seems to be a fair bit of drive space for each user to be using, but so be it.

So in that case, you may have the option just to create a new admin "testername" with a minimum of user data, then delete user-1 which may then leave you enough room to create and migrate all the user-2 stuff.

Or, can you enlarge the partition size???

But it doesn't make much sense if you can't even delete some of user-1 stuff to make room considering it seems to be the wrong data in the first place.

Something's wrong if you can't delete ninety-plus percent of user-1 stuff and still not have enough room for the correct user-2 data.

Just saying...


- Patrick
======

 

[krs]

It seems pretty straightforward to me. Boot from the USB Mojave installer again, cancel the installer if it starts, then use Disk Utility to do what you want. DU should be on the USB installer memory stick.

Thanks, but you must have missed that in my original post - I mentioned that Disk Utility is not on the USB installer. That surprised me because on other installers it is always there to use if needed.
I used Disk Creator to make the USB installer, I wonder if that is a problem.

But I'm confused a bit. You referred to a Mac mini running El Capitan. Does that mean that you have partitioned the hard drive in the Mini into two partitions, then installed Mojave into one partition while keeping El Cap in the other? If you did that, it would seem to me that El Cap DU should be able to see the second partition to remove it completely, then let you reinstall Mojave into that second partition again.
So, what really is going on?

No...
The hard drive in the Mini is the original 500 GB drive, it only has ElCapitan on it - no partition.
I have an external 2 TB drive connected to the Mini (with USB 3.0) that has four 500 GB partitions, each of which I normally use as a backup for four Macs.
I took one of these 500 GB partitions on the external and installed Mojave on it and then used Migration Assistant from one of the backups, the wrong one unfortunately.

So now I have ElCapitan on the internal drive in the Mini, three backups also ElCapitan on three 500 GB partitions on the external and one 500 GB partition on the external with Mojave and APFS

 

[MacInWin]

If DU is not on the bootable installer, how did the drive get formatted to APFS? The installer doesn't do that, DU does. IF you can't see it, something is wrong with the installer.

 

[krs]

That seems to be a fair bit of drive space for each user to be using, but so be it.

So in that case, you may have the option just to create a new admin "testername" with a minimum of user data, then delete user-1 which may then leave you enough room to create and migrate all the user-2 stuff.

Or, can you enlarge the partition size???

But it doesn't make much sense if you can't even delete some of user-1 stuff to make room considering it seems to be the wrong data in the first place.

Something's wrong if you can't delete ninety-plus percent of user-1 stuff and still not have enough room for the correct user-2 data.

Just saying...


- Patrick
======

Each of the backup partitions on the external has about 420GB on it - once a user gets to that amount of data including the OS and apps, I tell them to move large files and folders they don't use much to their own external so that the internal drives of their Macs always have around 80GB free.

I didn't say that I can't delete some user-1 stuff, at least I hope I didn't.
Eventually all the user-1 stuff will go. But there are no BIG folders that I can trash to make enough room for all of user-2 data. So getting rid of enough user-1 stuff becomes a bit of a manual exercise which I wanted to avoid.

But the other 3-step approach you are suggesting might work better.
Create User-3 with essentially no user data, delete User-1, migrate User-2 since there is enough room now, then delete User-3

I'm not going to spend more time on this now, getting too late.
I'll try these suggestions in the next few days when I have a bit more time.

Thank-you both for your suggestions.

 

[honestone33]

Not sure if anyone will read this informative post, as there seems to be narrow minded folks around here who are not responding to my posts. Or maybe the narrow minded admin folks are preventing my posts from appearing? In any event, here goes.

The other day, I used DiskMaker X (the latest version) to make a bootable Mojave (latest version, V10.14.6) macOS Install "disk" on a flash/thumb drive. As expected, that worked. When I just booted my Mac Mini from that flash drive, the following screen appeared:



As one can see, Disk Utility is the 4th option on that list.

Looks like maybe Disk Creator does not include Disk Utility.

 

[krs]

If DU is not on the bootable installer, how did the drive get formatted to APFS? The installer doesn't do that, DU does. IF you can't see it, something is wrong with the installer.

The Mojave installer must have done that.

On the external partition I used, there was originally an ElCapitan backup.
I used DU in ElCapitan to erase that; the format was HFS+
I remember that distinctly because I looked for APFS on ElCapitan DU and of course that option was not there

Then I just plugged in the Mojave USB installer, picked the partition I had just erased, pointed the installer to that and after about 2 hrs Mojave was installed.
Then ran the migration from one of the ElCapitan backups.
When I look at that partition now, it's Mojave, has all the user data on it and the file format is APFS.
I never formatted anything in APFS

 

[honestone33]

See what I mean? NO comment about my post above. Sheesh, what a bunch of losers!

 

[honestone33]

Thanks, but you must have missed that in my original post - I mentioned that Disk Utility is not on the USB installer. That surprised me because on other installers it is always there to use if needed.
I used Disk Creator to make the USB installer, I wonder if that is a problem.

Hello? Anybody home? Think, krs, think! I made that post about about DiskMaker X and Mojave. What, too dense to reply?

 

[krs]

I'm going to take another external drive I have with a 2015 backup on it which I'm sure I won't need and go through the same process but this time record all steps and what I see happening so I don't depend on my memory.
But that has to wait until tomorrow or the day after.

 

[MacInWin]

Then I just plugged in the Mojave USB installer, picked the partition I had just erased, pointed the installer to that and after about 2 hrs Mojave was installed.

Then why not just repeat that process? That's the end goal, right?

However, if it took two hours to do that, it may be faster to create a user with admin privilege, then delete the erroneous user, letting it erase all of that user's data and then migrating the user you want.

 

[krs]

Then why not just repeat that process? That's the end goal, right?

Yes, that is the end goal, but I can't repeat the process because the partition I want to use is now APFS formatted and it doesn't show in ElCapitan at all, not on the desktop or in DU.
Before it was HFS+ formatted so it came up in ElCapitan and I could install Mojave on it.

But I now also want to make sure that I didn't have to format anything in APFS when I did the install last time (and don't just have a brain blank), so I'm going to repeat the process installing Mojave again on a blank partition formatted as HFS+ in another external.

When I look at the various videos and descriptions on line where they describe how to install Mojave, everyone I have seen so far starts with a full OS with data, so they have to go through the DU process to erase what is there and format the drive.
I'm starting with an erased drive and it sort of makes sense to me that Apple set up the installer to format the drive to APFS automatically before starting the installation since it is a mandatory format for Mojave.
I just want to absolutely confirm that in my own mind.
But I still don't understand why I can't access DU on the installer flash drive. I expected to see something like this:

 

[MacInWin]

Yes, and if you boot from the USB installer and don't see that, then something is wrong on the USB installer. And when you boot from the USB installer, you can use the DU on that screen to reformat the partition that is APFS to clear it out for the installation.

But you haven't actually said you booted from the USB installer, just that you "plugged in" the installer. You would need to boot from the installer to get to where you get that screen you posted.

 

[ferrarr]

I alway get the Disk Utility option with any Mac OS X/OS X/macOS bootable USB installer I have created, going all the way back to Mac OS X Lion (10.7). You should create a new bootable macOS USB installer.

 

[krs]

I spent a bit of the Canadian Thanksgiving to repeat my first Mojave installation.
kept a written record step-by-step, it went like this:
Into the Mini running 10.11.6, I plugged in an external USB 3.0 drive with two ElCapitan (10.11.6) backups on it - each one on a separate partition of that external drive.
Both backups show on desktop
Launch 10.11.6 Disk Utility to erase one of the two backups.
Choice of formatting are the various OS X Extended versions plus MS DOS and ExFAT; I chose OS X Extended (journaled)
Complete the Erase process of the one external partition.

Then I plug the Mojave USB installer into a USB 3.0 port of the Mini
Installer shows up on the desktop.
I launch the installer and get the first image I have attached - no Disk Utility option anywhere. On older installers there used to be a drop down which included Disk Utility, but not here - I double checked them all.
Then I just kept following the prompts, agreed to the license, selected the "Mojave Test" partition (which was the erased OS X Extended format.
Next I needed to enter my admin credentials for the Mini so that a "Helper Tool" could be installed (see attachment) and then Mojave was installed completely.
Definitely no formatting to APFS at any point
(Next test will be a separate post to keep the attachments correctly associated

 

[krs]

But you haven't actually said you booted from the USB installer, just that you "plugged in" the installer. You would need to boot from the installer to get to where you get that screen you posted.

Jake, you are absolutely right, when I went back today to review what I had done, I had not booted from the installer.
So I went and did that, and sure enough, disk utility showed up as an option almost immediately so that I could erase the Mojave with the wrong User data on it.
Just shows you that I haven't done a clean install for a long time.

The purpose of the Mojave exercise was actually just a test to see if the "Save As..." permanent fix works with that OS - haven't gotten to that point yet.
I'll transfer the correct User data to Mojave tonight and take it from there

 

[pm-r]

The purpose of the Mojave exercise was actually just a test to see if the "Save As..." permanent fix works with that OS - haven't gotten to that point yet.

I wouldn't be at all surprised that Mojave with a long with Apple's management paranoia about security prevents you from doing so, at least not without disabling SIP to attempt the change.

But I'll stay tuned in...

BTW: Happy Canadian Thanksgiving and I hope you didn't drain all the eggnog.


- Patrick
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